Private Landowners

Private landowners are vital stewards of our nation’s landscapes and wildlife. Roughly 60 percent of land in the United States is privately owned. In many cases private lands are working lands that provide critical resources - such as food and wood - as well as a source of income and livelihood to landowners through farming, forest management, and other agricultural and recreational uses. They also provide important habitat for a variety of wildlife and are an integral part of a healthy ecosystem. Working lands can operate sustainably in ways that provide critical wildlife habitat while maintaining, and even enhancing, the land’s productivity and value.

The Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture (AMJV) is working with partners to provide a variety of opportunities for private landowners in improving habitat on their property to benefit a variety of birds and other wildlife, including game species and even pollinators. Examples of some of the great work landowners are applying to their properties include:

Technical assistance is available to guide landowners interested in enhancing habitat on their land. Financial assistance is available to offset the costs of implementing practices on the ground. Sustainable habitat management can provide landowners with economic and ecological benefits including:

New income sources

Maintain working lands operations with certainty and minimal interruptions

Ecological benefits such as healthier forests and improved water quality

Improved recreational opportunities for hunting and wildlife watching

Improved habitat for birds and bats that can reduce need for insecticides in crop production.

To learn more about these opportunities within the AMJV region, find below further information on initiatives and landowner programs: